What Size Hot Water System Do I Need?

Your Guide to Hot Water System Sizes and How To Choose the Right Size

So, you’re about to finish building your dream home, and now the time has come to install that vital hot water system so you can enjoy the luxuries of hot water. Or, you’re finally upgrading an old hot water system and are considering the options on the market. Either way, you’re likely wondering “What size hot water system do I need?”, even if it's solar.

Hot water system sizes vary to suit all types of homes, commercial properties, and living arrangements. Within this guide, CDL Plumbing is going to break down the different hot water system sizes available, as well as crucial factors that help to determine which size hot water system to get for your situation.

How Big a Hot Water System Do I Need?

Every family is different, and every home has a different setup. When selecting the right hot water system for your home, you’ll need to consider your options carefully. Standard hot water tanks will start at a capacity of around 25 litres and go all the way up to 400L! Hot water companies love to generalise and will state that it’s merely “X Litres per family member”; but in reality, hot water system sizes should be determined by other factors too.

Why It’s Important to Get the Right Size

So, there are two significant reasons that make choosing the correct hot water system sizes for your needs important:

• Firstly, if the hot water system size is too small, then you will continuously run out of hot water; this can be a nuisance in larger families who need to shower or use hot water within a short space of each other.
• On the contrary, if your hot water system is too large for your needs, then you will spend a lot of energy heating up water that isn’t used. This can be a financial burden on you as it takes considerable time and energy to heat more water.

As such, it is imperative that you find a system that fits your household needs comfortably without being too extreme. They always say life is about balance!

Determining the Right Hot Water System Size for Your Property

The general rule of thumb is that each person in a household will use around 50 litres of water per day. This included water use for washing clothes and dishes, showering, and drinking. So, what would be the ideal hot water tank size for a family of 5? It’s a bit more complicated than just multiplying 50 times 5. A few other factors come into play when deciding between hot water system sizes. The main questions you should be asking yourself are:

1. How Many People Are Living in Your Home?

So, what size hot water system do I need? Well, that depends on how many people are living in your home. A larger family will obviously need a bigger system than a couple. CDL Plumbing ensures the installation of long-lasting water systems, so consider if the home will have any extra residents in the future, kids? Relatives? Sub-letting part of the home? Make sure the system you select has the future in mind.

2. How Many Showers or Hot Water Outlets Will the System Be Attached to?

Whether your hot water system is connected to one or multiple showers will impact the system size you require. When you have one shower outlet, the system will have more time to heat water for future showers from the same outlet. However, if you have several bathrooms with shower outlets, the hot water system will need to be able to service these showers with hot water on demand, requiring a larger storage tank.

3. Your Households Water Habits

Perhaps the biggest differentiator when considering hot water system sizes is whether the device will be powered by natural gas or electricity.

Hot water systems powered by gas can be heated faster than electric hot water systems. Gas systems can heat the new water entering the tank fast enough to replenish hot water levels as they are used. On the other hand, an electric system requires more significant reserves of already heated water to service hot water outlets throughout spikes in demand. Smaller gas systems will still struggle in high-demand situations, for example, three or four showers taken concurrently.

Another consideration when choosing between gas or electric is the price; gas systems are generally cheaper to operate than an electric system. Gas instant hot water systems use either natural gas or LPG. Compared to electrical systems that are based on the number of uses, gas works on the number of outlets that may be used at the same time.

5. Volume

Another important factor to keep in mind when considering “what size hot water system do I need?” Is that the volume of the tank does not necessarily need to be the exact amount you use at any one time. If you install a 75L tank and work out your household uses 100L per day, don’t immediately assume your tank is too small! If that 100L is made up of using 25L four times during the day, that will be fine!

The information provided above is a rough guide, please contact CDL Plumbing to discuss the exact hot water needs of your household to get a more accurate idea.

Simplify Hot Water Installation with CDL Plumbing

Still curious as to “how big a hot water system do I need?” Well, leave it to us!

At CDL Plumbing, we have over 15 years of experience servicing all the hot water needs in the Newcastle nd Lake Macquarie regions. Our plumbers can help to both select and install an appropriate hot water system in your home or commercial property and ensure it runs safely and reliably.

Contact our team today on 0477 76 2937 for advice on selecting and installing a hot water system. The fully qualified team at CDL Plumbing will carefully analyse the needs of your household and get you set up with a quote to know what you are getting into before we go ahead with hot water installation. Hot water is essential to any household, so let us get you started!